Aston Villa vs. Fulham: Ranking Advantages, Position-by-Position

Aston Villa Football Club will plays its most important match in recent history. In Fulham, the claret and blues have a seasoned opponent full of talent of their own.

What better to do than rank Aston Villa and Fulham across the board, position-by-position? Is is subjective? Absolutely. But will it reveal match-ups to watch over the course of (at least) 90 minutes on Saturday? Perhaps – so let’s get to it.

Goalkeeper: Sam Johnstone (AVL) vs. Marcus Bettinelli (FUL)

This one has a clear winner, and it’s not because the other is a weak option. Sam Johnstone was by some statistical measures the best Championship goalkeeper this season. At worst, he’s in the top-three. Bettinelli was excellent too, but with the added caveat that his production was over a much smaller sample size.

Advantage, Aston Villa (Villa +1).

Right Back: Ahmed Elmohamady (AVL) vs. Ryan Fredericks (FUL)

Both Ahmed Elmohamady and Ryan Fredericks played unheralded roles in their respective clubs’ successes this season. I mean, they’re right backs – they don’t get a lot of love. But in terms of quality of play, Fredericks takes the edge here with more assists, more defensive work, a superior passing accuracy, and better WhoScored aggregate.

Advantage, Fulham (Even)

Central Defense: James Chester/John Terry (AVL) vs. Tim Ream & Dennis Odoi/Tomas Kalas (FUL)

Oh boy, this is tough to judge. Chester and Ream were other-worldly awesome this year, while Terry, Kalas, and Odoi were great too. This one goes to Villa solely on the first pairing being slightly better than Fulham’s first pairing. In a one-game play-off final, you don’t need depth unless something goes wrong.

Advantage, Aston Villa (Villa +1)

Left Back: Alan Hutton (AVL) vs. Matt Targett (FUL)

This position is equally tough to judge. On one side you have the talented upstart youngster, with an England youth background, who has been lighting it up since his January arrival. On the other, a chiseled veteran right back, who’s survived literal Aston Villa apocalypse. And he spent the last 180 minutes shadowing Adama Traore into oblivion. This is a push if I’ve ever seen it. Hutton’s experience equals Targett’s advanced attacking talent.

Push, (Villa +1)

Defensive Midfield: Mile Jedinak/Birkir Bjarnason (AVL) vs. Kevin McDonald (FUL)

Kevin McDonald had a slightly better season than Mile Jedinak in the aggregate. But in terms of value for a one-off final, Mile Jedinak brings the more important skill set. Jedinak’s aerial ability could play a crucial part in attack and defense. McDonald allows Fulham’s other central midfielders to orchestrate, however. This one is also a push.

Push, (Villa +1)

Central Midfield: Conor Hourihane/Jack Grealish (AVL) vs. Stefan Johansen/Tom Cairney (FUL)

Jack Grealish is the best of the bunch here, but this one is simply too close to call. Again, another push, as Tom Cairney and Stefan Johansen developed an incredible rapport as double pivot partners. Conor Hourihane might be the most important player for Aston Villa on Saturday. He needs to have an incredible game to increase the club’s chances of Premier League glory.

Push, (Villa +1)

Attacking Midfielders/Wingers: Albert Adomah/Robert Snodgrass (AVL) vs. Ryan Sessegnon & Aboubakar Kamara/Floyd Ayité (FUL)

Ryan Sessegnon is the best here, but the combination of Adomah and Snodgrass is too difficult to ignore. Their left/right dribbling begins a many Aston Villa attacks. As such, Villa get the slight boost here as Kamara likely starts on the right-hand side.

Advantage, Aston Villa (Villa +2)

Center Forwards: Lewis Grabban/Jonathan Kodjia (AVL) vs. Aleksandar Mitrovic (FUL)

No disrespect to Grabban or Kodjia here, but Mitrovic can do miraculous things from the center forward position. Clear Fulham advantage here (but one that may be mitigated some by the presence of John Terry). Expect Mitrovic to attack Chester’s relative lack of size on crosses and set pieces.

Advantage, Fulham, (Villa +1)